I don't think there is a seamless 10- to 15-year plan. I think a number of the building blocks have been put in place as the economy has shifted from one where we're really focusing on skill shortages. We've had the benefit of such a strong economy for a long time. There's the recognition of a number of issues out there--older workers, the need for hybrid skills. Some of the building blocks have been put in place.
In the last couple of years, our department has announced the workplace skills strategy, which has various components to it.
There is the workplace skills initiative, which is not a big program, but it is one that's very much focused on recognizing what you were talking about with respect to the various partners who are involved. We need to get the educational institutions and all levels of governments playing together. As I say, the workplace skills initiative was announced a little more than a year ago. We're just in the throes of looking at different pilot projects that would come together to say, here's the province, a firm, and an educational institute working together. So we're starting to look at that.
Also, there is the workplace partners panel, which is facilitated through the Canadian Labour and Business Centre. That is an attempt at the federal level to basically address what you're talking about, that there is no federal, provincial, or educational institution answer to these problems. These players have to come together. What we're talking about is probably a degree of unprecedented collaboration. I think that is also true, within the federal government, with respect to the three departments that are here today.
It's probably not typical in the last decade that departments have come together to address these issues, but in fact there's an awful lot going on right now. I know that we've been working with NRCan to look at the oils sands issues. The provincial government is at the table. The educational institutions are coming together.
So in terms of a 15-year plan, no, I don't think it's there, but I think it's coming.